Square (slang): Difference between revisions

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			{{Short description\|Slang term}}
	{{dablink\|For other uses, see ].}}
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			'''''Square''''' is slang for a person who is conventional and old-fashioned, similar to a ].<ref name=OEDadj>{{Cite OED\|square, ''adj.'', d.}}</ref><ref name=OEDnoun>{{Cite OED\|square, ''n.'', 16 a.}}</ref><ref name=OEtymD>{{OEtymD\|square\|accessdate=March 29, 2018}}</ref> This sense of the word "]" originated with the American ] community in the 1940s in reference to people out of touch with musical trends.<ref name=OEDadj/> Older senses of the term ''square'', referring positively to someone or something honest and upstanding, date back to the 16th century.<ref name=OEtymD/><ref name=OEDadj2>{{Cite OED\|square, ''adj.'', c.}}</ref>

			==History==
	The term "square", in referring to a person, originally meant someone who was honest, traditional, and loyal. The evolution of American culture transformed the term from a compliment to an insult to an obsolete term. It has been said that nowadays, anyone who uses the term "square" to refer to a person, ''is one''.
			The English word '']'' dates to the 13th century and derives from the ] ''''. By the 1570s, it was in use in reference to someone or something honest or fair.<ref name=OEtymD/><ref name=OEDadj2/> This positive sense is preserved in phrases such as "]", meaning something done in an honest and straightforward manner,<ref>{{Cite OED\|fair and square, ''adv.'' and ''adj.''}}</ref> and "]", meaning an outcome equitable to all sides.<ref>{{Cite OED\|deal, ''n.2'' 2. c.}}</ref> A ] variant on the phrase, "fairs pears", bears the same meaning and was first traced by Cecil Sharp in 1903 when visiting his friend (and lyrics editor) ] in Hambridge, South Somerset. <ref>Sharp, C and Marson, C ''Folk Songs from Somerset vols 1-3'' 1904-1906 Simpkin</ref>

			The sense of ''square'' as a derogatory reference to someone conventional or old-fashioned dates to the ] scene of the 1940s; the first known reference is from 1944. There it applied to someone who failed to appreciate the medium of jazz, or more broadly, someone whose tastes were out of date and out of touch. It may derive from the rigid motion of a ]'s hands in a conventional, four-beat rhythm.<ref name=OEtymD/> It is used as both an adjective and a noun.<ref name=OEDadj/><ref name=OEDnoun/> A square contrasted with someone who was '']'', or in the know.<ref name=OEDadj/>
	In the parlance of ], a '''square''' was a person who failed to appreciate the medium, hence (more broadly) someone who was out of date or out of touch. Such was the opprobrium attached to "squareness" among jazz lovers that musician ] adopted the middle name "Sphere".
			The cub scout promise included the pledge "to be square" from the 1950s to the 1970s. In contemporary language, U.S. branches of the military refer to "squared away" to describe things that are ordered.
	The term, with its broader meaning, has persisted and has permeated mainstream culture, as exemplified in ]'s ] hit ''Hip to be square''. In ultimate ], this song was later used by ] to illustrate the geometrical meaning of "square".

		⚫	== See also ==
	In the ] movements that took momentum in the 1960s a "square" referred to someone who clung to repressive, traditional, stereotypical, one-sided, or "in the box" ways of thinking.
			{{wikt\|square}}
	The term was mostly utilized by ]s, ]s, ]s, and other individuals who took part in the movements which emerged to contest the more ] national, political, religious, philosophical, musical and social trends.

	The term found its way into various parts of popular culture. Perhaps the most obvious recurring reference today would be this line from "]", a song most famously sung by ]:

	:''The warden said hey buddy don't you be no square''
	:''If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair''

	The term was used in the American ''] Promise'' until 1971.

	The chorus of the ] song "Mary's a Grand Old Name" concludes with this line:

	:And there is something there / That sounds so square / It's a grand old name.

	] is also a derivate term for square. The square shape is made by putting together an "L" made with the left thumb and index finger and a "7" made with the right thumb and index finger. This is similar to the "whatever" "W" and other communications with the hands, such as gang signifying and ].

⚫	==See also==
	* ]		* ]
	* ]		* ]
	* ]		* ]

			==References==
	<!-- both terms commensurate; more elaborate semantics in German culturally conditioned?-->
			{{reflist}}

			{{Authority control}}
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			]
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	]		]

	]


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Latest revision as of 22:04, 25 June 2024

Slang term

Square is slang for a person who is conventional and old-fashioned, similar to a fuddy-duddy. This sense of the word "square" originated with the American jazz community in the 1940s in reference to people out of touch with musical trends. Older senses of the term square, referring positively to someone or something honest and upstanding, date back to the 16th century.

History

The English word square dates to the 13th century and derives from the Old French esquarre. By the 1570s, it was in use in reference to someone or something honest or fair. This positive sense is preserved in phrases such as "fair and square", meaning something done in an honest and straightforward manner, and "square deal", meaning an outcome equitable to all sides. A West Country variant on the phrase, "fairs pears", bears the same meaning and was first traced by Cecil Sharp in 1903 when visiting his friend (and lyrics editor) Charles Marson in Hambridge, South Somerset.

The sense of square as a derogatory reference to someone conventional or old-fashioned dates to the jazz scene of the 1940s; the first known reference is from 1944. There it applied to someone who failed to appreciate the medium of jazz, or more broadly, someone whose tastes were out of date and out of touch. It may derive from the rigid motion of a conductor's hands in a conventional, four-beat rhythm. It is used as both an adjective and a noun. A square contrasted with someone who was hip, or in the know. The cub scout promise included the pledge "to be square" from the 1950s to the 1970s. In contemporary language, U.S. branches of the military refer to "squared away" to describe things that are ordered.

References

^ "square, adj., d.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ "square, n., 16 a.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ Harper, Douglas. "square". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
^ "square, adj., c.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
"fair and square, adv. and adj.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
"deal, n.2 2. c.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
Sharp, C and Marson, C Folk Songs from Somerset vols 1-3 1904-1906 Simpkin

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Latest revision as of 22:04, 25 June 2024

History

See also

References